


I Know The End

by blackskysilverstars



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Canonical Character Death, F/F, First War with Voldemort, Lesbian Character, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Pre-First War with Voldemort, Requited Love, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Unrequited Love, jily, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 18:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30008802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackskysilverstars/pseuds/blackskysilverstars
Summary: This is the Marauders' time at Hogwarts in the perspective of Marlene McKinnon. The events and relationships will mostly be compliant to what MsKingBean89 wrote in All The Young Dudes (amazing fanfic!! go read it!!).It is pretty canon compliant since we have basically no info on Marlene.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Original Female Character(s), Marlene McKinnon/Yazmin Patel, Mary Macdonald & Marlene McKinnon, Mary Macdonald/Marlene McKinnon, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 1





	I Know The End

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [All the Young Dudes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10057010) by [MsKingBean89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsKingBean89/pseuds/MsKingBean89). 



> Don't expect a happy ending.
> 
> I'm not a native English speaker, so please forgive the mistakes (and help is always welcome! if you see a word that doesn't look right, please tell me).
> 
> I'll try to update this as often as I can (one a week?), but I can't promise anything! I have already written the last chapter so I will finish this one day, promise!
> 
> The name of this fic is from the song by Phoebe Bridgers (an artist I fully recommend if you want to cry your heart out while lying on the ground).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marlene's first day at Hogwarts

**First Year**

_September 1st, 1971_

The first day of September, Marlene woke up at the crack of dawn. She lay still in her bed for a few minutes, taking in the sounds coming from the room next to hers. Through the walls, she could hear her brother, Danny, snoring. She slowly got out of bed and headed towards her trunk. She grabbed the muggle outfit her mom had put there for her in preparation for today: a blouse with an orange and yellow print which was way too big for her, blue cargo pants and a green zip-up hoodie. She put the clothes on and opened her trunk, making sure that everything was there for the hundredth time.

Marlene headed downstairs tip-toed, careful not to wake anyone. She grabbed her broom and headed outside. She got on her broom and quickly leapt into the air. She sighed. As she was gaining speed, she could feel her mind slowing down. She only had to focus on the wind against her face, on her blond hair flying behind her. As her anxiety was starting to come down, Marlene could feel the excitement take its place. _Today is going to be brilliant_ , she thought.

The rest of the morning had gone in a flash. The McKinnons had run around all morning, Eileen going over Marlene’s trunk three more times before her husband, Finlay, could convince her she had packed everything.

“And mum, you know we’ll be able to send her stuff, right?” added Danny.

“I know,” replied Eileen, “but it’s a big day! Our baby girl is going off to school and we won’t see her for months, I simply want to make sure that everything is perfect!”

Marlene turned red and buried her face in her cereal bowl. It was always like that with her parents. Danny was the big brother, the hero, the quidditch star, and she was the baby, always coddled and protected. That was one of the reasons why she was excited to finally go to Hogwarts. There, she could be who she wanted, without being in the shadow of her brother.

_The Hogwarts Express_

The McKinnons stepped on Platform 9 ¾ at 10:40, which gave plenty of time for her mother to cry and give her endless hugs before Eileen had to be ripped away from her by both her husband and her son. Marlene headed on the train, carrying her trunk and the cage which held Freddie, her brown owl.

She found a compartment which was only occupied by another girl who looked about the same age. She was smaller than Marlene, dressed in muggle clothes that Marlene recognized as stylish from the people she had seen at the station. Her skin was dark and glowy, she had beautiful almond-shaped eyes and curly hair that fell right under her chest. She smiled up at Marlene, a kind smile, and Marlene felt instantly comforted by this girl. She sat down opposite of her.

“Hi,” the girl said, “I’m Mary. Macdonald.”

“Cheers,” Marlene replied, “my name’s Marlene. How’s it going?”

Mary smiled again, ran her hand through her hair, and answered: “Scared shitless.”

_The Sorting_

When she stepped into the Great Hall with the other first years, Marlene couldn’t believe her eyes. It was even greater than what Danny and her parents had told her. The ceiling was glowing, and what seemed like billions of stars were stretched out on the ceiling, which looked exactly the night sky. It was like the room had no roof. Hundreds of students in identical black robes were seated at the four long tables. They all looked at the first years, the younger students with excitement and the older students with a look of boredom – which comes with experience.

Mary, the girl she had met on the train, moved closer to Marlene and intertwined their fingers together. They both looked at each other with a small smile. Marlene could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, as if it was going to rip out and join the stars on the ceiling.

The professor, who had introduced herself as McGonagall, said the first name on the list. “Simon Arnold” stepped up, looking terrified, and sat on the stool. McGonagall hadn’t put the hat on his head for two seconds before it chanted, out of a whole which vaguely resembled a mouth, “Hufflepuff!” The kids seated at the corresponding table roared with applause as the small boy headed their way

Not too long after, “Sirius Black” was called to the front. Marlene recognized him. Not that she had met him before, but she knew of the Black family: they were a family that prided themselves on their blood status – “Toujours pur”. Sirius, from what Marlene knew, looked the part. He was tall and slim, with curly jet-black hair that touched his shoulders, and piercing blue eyes. He _looked_ noble. Marlene could see, as Sirius sat on the stool, that he looked very tense – like he was trying to play it cool while his insides were burning. The hat didn’t take too long to make his decision. “Gryffindor!”, it roared, and the room fell silent for a second, before the Gryffindor students inevitably started cheering. Marlene could swear she heard some “boos!” coming from the Slytherin table, but Sirius didn’t pay attention to them. He simply moved very slowly towards the Gryffindor table, like he hadn’t quite realized what had just happened.

A few students later, McGonagall called out for “Remus Lupin” to join her at the front of the hall. A tall and scrawny boy separated from the group and sat on the stool. He had a hardened look on his face, his head was shaved close to the scalp and he looked like he had some kind of scars on his arms. Marlene felt a splurge of empathy towards him. The hat hesitated for a bit before settling on “Gryffindor!” The tabled roared and Remus hurried there, his face neutral, careful not to reveal his feelings about the sorting. He sat down across from Sirius and a redhead girl with a kind face who had been sorted not too long ago.

Mary was next. She let go of Marlene’s hand and walked towards professor McGonagall. Marlene admired the assurance with which she sat down on the stool, almost smirking at the room. You could tell this was a girl who didn’t need to work to have people pay attention to her. Marlene’s heart tugged at this realization, but she shrugged the thought away and focused on her friend. The hat yelled “Gryffindor!” and it seemed like the whole hall was cheering as Mary made her way to the table. Marlene almost didn’t hear her name be called, as she was so focused on Mary.

“Mmmmh,” the hat said, right after touching Marlene’s blond hair. “A McKinnon? I remember your brother, Danny… Sorted him right in Gryffindor, no hesitation. Now, what are we going to do with you? I do see some of that Gryffindor fire in you too… But perhaps you’d be better suited in Hufflepuff, with a heart like that?”

Marlene stayed silent, not knowing if she was supposed to answer. _Oh god,_ she thought _, this is taking longer than everyone else, isn’t it?_

The hat chuckled, as if it had heard her thoughts. “No, I see. It’s definitely GRYFFINDOR!” he finally yelled out, and Marlene let out a sigh of relief. Not that she would have minded either way, but she was happy to see a familiar face as she was walking towards the Gryffindor table. She promptly sat down besides Mary, who reached out under the table and squeezed her hand.


End file.
